Getting Life Experience
by whitefairy
Summary: Well, it starts from where my last fic left off. And now Antauri and Ichigo have to babysit Malachite for a week! Will Antauri survive?
1. squealer

Disclaimer: Que?

Thanks to:

Twister91: Ichigo: Yay! Thank you! (Huggles Malachite)

WF: And this Amethyst belongs to goddessofanime, and she said in her bio for Amethyst that she flirts with Gibson. I decided to take it a _little_ further!

Guy who reads too much fantasy: WF: Yep, ended it there and starting it here! And as for it being a yes (taps nose) maybe.

Snipemaster: Everyone: (watches Nova leap on Renegade and practically molest him)

WF: Um... Nova? Think you can keep it PG, please?

Nova: No! (Continues)

Navy2Blue: Ichigo: Aaaaw, bye Belltea! (Waves)

WF: Gah, more children! (Hides)

Antauri: That's my line!

WF: Not anymore, I have more reason to use it! Children can kill fairies! Not monkeys!

Everyone: (sweat drop as WF hides in a box)

4Evermonkeyfan: Nova: Maybe he's a player, but he's my player!

Gibson: So beat him up together!

Nova: Good idea! (Helps Sarah beat the crud out of Sprx)

WF: Sure, you can borrow Ryou and Ichigo!

Astral Firefly: WF: LOL the sad thing is, I've done that whilst sober!

Ichigo: I'll save you, Ryou! (Starts flinging Ryou plushies to the crazed fangirls)

Fangirls: (have a massive catfight over the plushies)

Sprx: This is better than women's wrestling!

All females there bar Ichigo: WHAT? (Start knocking the sense out of Sprx)

A Fan of Romance: WF: If you want, you can hide with me in my child proof lair (is hiding in a cardboard box)

Otto: Umm... that's a box.

WF: Lies!

Otto: (shrugs and puts Malachite in there)

WF: Gah, child! It burns! (Flies off like crazy)

Beastfire: WF: (hovers over and watches Beastfire squirm on the floor with Ivy underneath) Oh yeah, it rules being a fairy! (Has Malachite thrown up at her by Beastfire) Gah, child! It burns! IT BUUUUUUUURNSSS!

Spirits Shadow: Ryou: And I'm gonna be an uncle! I'm so proud! (Gets teary eyed)

WF: Hold it, cowboy! What makes you so sure she's pregnant?

Ryou: What?

WF: Uh... nothing!

Novafangirl: Antauri: (holds ghost claws up to WF's throat) Alright, spill! Is Ichigo pregnant or not?

WF: Um... um... (Faints)

Ichigo: Well, that's one way to get out of answering!

goddessofanime: Gibson: (blushes) No we weren't! Amethyst just... had a problem and she very wisely came to me about it!

Sprx: And helping her involved you being in bed with her?

Gibson: (now redder than Sprx) Um... yes?

Yellowfairy: Ichigo: Hey, another fairy! Cool!

WF: Hide! (Grabs YF and drags her into her secret child proof lair)

Sprx: coughit'saboxcough

WF: The children will get you too! (Puts pan on her head and holds wand ready)

Blossom268703: Thank you!

**Squealer**

"It's... negative" said Ichigo, Antauri heard a sob escape her lips and he noticed she was crying silently.

"Oh, Angel" he soothed, hugging her close. "Please don't cry, it'll happen eventually! Besides..." he reached down and gently pulled her face up to look at him, "This just means we'll have to do it more!" Antauri watched Ichigo sniff slightly before she grinned up at him.

"Yeah..." she agreed, before suddenly reacquainting herself with the toilet once more. Antauri looked perplexed,

"What could be making you so ill, then?" he asked, more to himself then to Ichigo.

"Eurgh..." said Ichigo as she finished, she turned to him rather shakily, "probably that alcohol Axe force- fed me last night" Antauri looked shocked,

"What?" he demanded angrily, causing Ichigo to wince in pain because of the headache she had. He apologized and asked her again,

"Yeah, after I came out of the bathroom he was standing there and he started chasing me until he caught me and force fed me this drink. I guessed it was alcohol cos it made my mind feel fuzzy, plus it burned going down my throat." Ichigo noticed how thoughtful Antauri looked,

"Then..." he started, "Nova fed me alcohol too!" they stared at each in a stunned silence.

"But, why?" asked Ichigo, sounding very upset and hurt, Antauri thought about it before coming to the answer.

"Obviously, to loosen us up and make us more succumbing to suggestion. That's why we were so quick to... y'know, last night" he explained. Then he turned when he heard voices heading towards their door, Antauri recognised the voices and glared "and I think I know who else was involved!" he snarled as he went to answer the knock at the door.

"I hope Ichigo is OK" said Krystal, looking pretty worried, "morning sickness isn't fun!"

"Tell me about it!" agreed Jet then she turned and smiled as the door opened, "Good morning, Antauri! Otto told me about Ichigo being pregnant so I came... to..." she stopped when she saw the dark glare Antauri was giving her.

'Oh no, he hasn't figured it out has he?' she thought, looking panic stricken,

'Yes, he has!' growled a voice in her head. Jet laughed nervously and backed away from the irate monkey,

"Well, I guess I'll let you get back to helping Ichigo! Heh... bye!" Jet ran but Antauri caught her tail and dragged her back. He pulled her up so his face was just an inch from hers and he growled menacingly,

"Why did you get us drunk?" he asked, glare deepening. Jet gulped and tried to think of what to say. Thankfully, someone came to her aid

"It was my idea!" cried Jojo, Antauri was so shocked that he dropped Jet on the floor. She landed with a loud bump and cursed quietly under her breath.

"What?" asked Antauri, looking amazed, "Jojo... how _could _you?" Jojo looked away,

"I'm sorry, Antauri. I-I thought if you and Ichigo... y'know _did it_ then you'd loosen up and stop being so protective and so against children! Plus, you know how much Ichigo wants to have babies and now that she's pregnant-"

"Ichigo _isn't_ pregnant" Antauri's words cut through Jojo's explanation and left everyone amazed.

"What?" asked Krystal, faintly. Antauri turned to her,

"You heard me! Ichigo isn't pregnant! She was sick this morning because of that alcohol _you guys_ fed her!" the other hung their heads in shame.

"Yeah, but it was good wasn't it?" asked Kio, looking confused by Antauri's actions. "So what if she's not got pregnant this time? It _felt_ good, didn't it?" Antauri thought about it; he remembered a particularly heated part of last night and blushed,

"Yes" he agreed, hanging his own head in shame. He sighed, "I'm sorry. I believe that the disappointment impaired my judgment and I was quick to blame others"

The others smiled at him in an understanding way,

"So what was it like?" this was followed by an 'Ow!' as Sprx, who had asked, was smacked up the head by everyone else.

Ichigo watched as Antauri re-entered followed by Jet, Otto, Krystal, Ivy, Nova and Jojo. The moment Jojo saw how ill Ichigo looked, she burst into tears and hugged her.

"Oh Ichigo! I'm so sorry! It's all my fault!" Ichigo allowed the monkey to continue her hysterical ranting until Jet coughed to get their attention.

Everyone turned to her and she waited until Jojo calmed down and let go of Ichigo before speaking.

"Ichigo" she started, "um... Otto and I were wondering..." Ichigo raised an eyebrow, curious now, "if you'd look after Malachite for us!" she blurted out. Ichigo raised both eyebrows and Antauri started to have a fit,

"Please, you guys? Please?" begged Otto, "y'see Jet and I wanna spend some alone time here and Krystal, Onyx and Petalite are going home today so Malachite would be bored. So... could you..." Otto left it hanging but they understood. Ichigo beamed up at the couple,

"Sure!" she agreed instantly, leaving Antauri to continue his fit to himself. She stood up, with Nova and Jojo's help, and grinned at them.

"I'll convince Antauri, don't worry!" she whispered, whilst said monkey continued to rant.

"I hate you so much right now" complained Antauri as he reluctantly carried the sleeping Malachite into the Super Robot. Ichigo looked at him with big, hurt eyes and he instantly sighed. "Fine" he said, "I take it back!" Ichigo grinned at him and kissed his cheek. Antauri watched her fly away with their bags and had to smirk as he remembered even more of last night.

"Can't wait to do that again" he murmured to himself, nodding.

"Well, you'll have to" said a voice beside him; Antauri jumped with surprise and looked at Malachite, who was waking up. The little green and white monkey sat up and rubbed his eye with his hand before yawning and looking at his carrier. "With me around, you'll have to wait to do _those_ sorts of things!"

Antauri looked flabbergasted,

"Ho-how do you know what I was talking about?" he asked, blushing and frantic. Malachite gave him a frighteningly flat look,

"The whole hotel could hear you moaning and squealing" he replied, causing Antauri's face to burn red. "Dad didn't think you'd be a squealer!" he added and Antauri sweat dropped,

"Th-that was Ichigo! She was squealing not me!" complained Antauri, his eyes wide with shock.

"Suuuure" Malachite said sarcastically, Antauri glared.

"You _do_ realise that I'm in charge of you now?" he threatened, Malachite smirked in a way that reminded Antauri of Onyx,

"Which means if you hurt me, you'll have to deal with my mum!" he countered, as he jumped out of the black monkey's arms and ran into the robot, leaving Antauri to gape at him like a fish.

Antauri slumped and tried to fight off the already burnt in blush on his cheeks,

"Great, now I'm stuck with a smart alec child for a week!"

Wheeeeeee, (ducks people who wanted Ichigo to be pregnant) gah! Look at me go! It only took forever and ever to do! Meh, but blame GCSE's not me! Review peeps!


	2. annoying is fun!

Disclaimer: Meh, warm weather... England... how?

Thanks to:

Twister91: Ichigo: (tapping foot) Antauri...

Antauri: (still holding Malachite) But he... and I... and um...

Ichigo: (takes Malachite from Antauri) Why don't you go play outside for a while, Malachite? (When Malachite is out of sight) HOW DARE YOU BULLY A CHILD! HONESTLY, I THOUGHT YOU HAD MORE CONTROL THAN THAT, YOU TYRANNICAL (continues to yell at him)

Antauri: (whimpers)

Ichigo: AND YOU AREN'T GETTING_ ANYTHING_ TONIGHT! IN FACT, YOU CAN SLEEP ON YOUR CHAIR IN THE MAIN ROOM; MALACHITE CAN HAVE YOUR SPACE ON THE BED!

Antauri: Wha-what? (Looks heart broken) But... but (runs off crying)

Guy who reads too much fantasy: WF: (growls) and what obvious is that? If you think the story isn't worth telling then why'd you bother reading? Humph! (Turns away but looks thoughtful) Although, I gotta admit, that chapter did suck. I didn't like how it came out. Oh well (realises she's agreeing) Um... I mean, humph! (Sweat drops)

Blossom268703: WF: Great minds think alike eh? LOL

Spirits Shadow: WF: (shadow falls over her) Huh? (Turns and sees Jade towering over her) Uh... maybe I can make you happy at the end or something? (Is crammed into her child proof lair and taped in) Help!

Ichigo: (oblivious) Bunny! (Glomps bunny you made) It's so cute and squishy and lovable!

**For the love of everything read this! **Can I ask that people with their e-mail hidden on their bios please unhide them? I wanna review and the only way I can is by e-mail, so can you please please please unhide them? Thank you.

**Annoying is Fun!**

"ICHIGOOOOOOO!" cried Malachite as he ran into the bedroom where Ichigo was, he jumped into her arms and started crying, "Antauri threatened me, and said I was... I was... a nuisance! Waaaaaaaaaaah!" Malachite cried loudly. Ichigo, to say the least, didn't look happy about it as she stormed into the room that Antauri meditated in and Malachite trotted along behind, eager to see what would become of the second in command.

"Antauri..." Ichigo growled, tapping her foot, "come out of hiding now or you'll just make it worse for yourself!" Ichigo heard some shuffling to her right and turned to see a glowing green eye peeping out from behind a stack of boxes. She let out an aggravated sigh,

"Please, Ichigo, it wasn't my fault! That little..." he stopped when he saw Ichigo glare at him, it was like a bunny with a bazooka: cute but deadly, so he decided to change tactics. He ran out from behind the boxes and scooped her into his arms, "You're so sexy when you're angry" he purred, trying to seduce her.

Ichigo facevaulted at the comment and blushed,

"Antauri..." she said quietly, trying not to look at him, "that was... THE LAMEST ATTEMPT AT TRYING TO GET OUT OF TROUBLE I'VE EVER SEEN!" Antauri stared in horror as Ichigo hovered eye level with him and began to berate him angrily.

Malachite watched with impish glee as Antauri was verbally torn apart by his smaller and usually gentle girlfriend.

'Man, this is great! Who knew being annoying was so much fun?' he thought as Ichigo stopped yelling, satisfied that Antauri was now curled up on the floor crying, and she smiled at Malachite as she picked him up

"Let's go get some ice cream, Malachite" she said, beaming at the trouble maker, "oh and Antauri?" she called over her shoulder; Antauri whimpered in response "if you make Malachite cry again, you'll be sleeping outside for a month! Got that?"

"Yeah..." came Antauri's broken and sobbing reply and, with that, Ichigo and a plotting Malachite left.

At the ice cream parlour, Ichigo watched Malachite run around the indoor playground eagerly, trying out everything and making a few friends. She smiled at him when he waved at her before running off to play tag; she sighed and turned back to her friend,

"You don't think I was too hard on Antauri, do you Fraz?" she asked the brunette in front of her who was a cleaning sundae glass. She looked up from her work and her blue grey eyes had a distant look in them, she pushed her glasses back up her nose and looked down at Ichigo,

"I think you could've been a bit more lenient; after all it's not like he's had much practice with looking after children, has he?" Fraz said in that reasoning tone of hers. Ichigo nodded in agreement with her childhood friend and sighed.

"I just hope he doesn't give up on the idea of having kids, I really want to see that premonition of his come true" she sighed again and rested her chin on the counter top. Fraz smiled at her, sympathetically,

"Hey, why not go out on a date with him? Show him how much you love him and try and clear the air between you two, how's that sound?" Fraz watched Ichigo sit up and ponder this for a while. Suddenly, her face split into a massive grin and she hugged the human tightly,

"Thanks Fraz! I knew I could count on you!" she squealed before calling to Malachite that it was time to go.

Antauri had moved from where he'd been curled up shaking like a leaf and was now sitting in his chair in the main room reading. He was so absorbed that he didn't notice Ichigo and Malachite enter. Ichigo shooed off Malachite, telling him to go see what the others were up to, before creeping over to her oblivious boyfriend.

Antauri felt the book being moved down and he saw Ichigo's face appear. He leapt back in shock and felt his body start shaking again,

"Ichigo, I swear I haven't done anything to Malachite! I've just been sitting here reading, I didn't do anything!" he whimpered and covered his head, "Please don't hurt me!" he felt Ichigo reaching towards him and braced for the first blow. But, instead he felt her hand rubbing his cheek and, when he looked up, he saw that she looked ashamed and guilty. He uncurled himself from his ever so manly defensive position and looked at her,

"What's wrong?" he asked, feeling worried. Ichigo climbed up beside him and hugged him tightly,

"I'm sorry" she whispered, and nuzzled his chest. Antauri looked shocked for a moment before he relaxed. He hugged her back and kissed her forehead; he lifted her face to look into her eyes and smiled.

"Apology accepted" he said, causing Ichigo to grin at him and they kissed softly.

When they parted, Ichigo crawled behind Antauri and started massaging his shoulders; Antauri purred and laid down to make it easier. Ichigo grinned and continued to soothe her boyfriend as she spoke,

"Antauri-koi, I was thinking... maybe we should go out tonight? Y'know just us two, alone in a forest somewhere, looking out at the stars or something"

"You mean like a date?" he asked as he turned onto his back and dragged Ichigo down on top of him. Ichigo squeaked in surprise before collapsing on top of him,

"Yeah" she replied as soon as she was comfortable, Antauri smiled and nodded. Ichigo grinned and kissed his nose happily before snuggling down on top of him.

"Where shall we go, my aibou?" she asked, feeling rather excited about the idea. Antauri grinned at her enthusiasm and thought about it, then he thought of the perfect place and chuckled to himself.

"I have a place in mind" he answered, sitting up. Ichigo looked as eager as a child at Christmas and she practically pounced on him,

"Where? Tell me!" she squeaked, jumping with excitement. He grabbed her to hold her still and grinned mischievously,

"It's a surprise!" he teased, causing Ichigo to moan and start begging him.

Ichigo tried seduction, bribes, crying, puppy dog eyes and threats. But nothing seemed to make Antauri crack; eventually it grew late so she gave up and left Antauri in peace. Antauri watched as she left for bed and waited until he heard her close the door to their bedroom before jumping up and running out to the exit tubes. Making sure he wasn't being followed, Antauri blasted off and headed towards the city.

'Oh this is so good! Ichigo doesn't have any idea what I've got in store for her!' he thought gleefully, feeling quite proud of himself.

And as Antauri faded into the darkened city, blending with the shadows, a pair of eyes shone as they watched and suddenly an almost evil grin appeared too as the owner headed for the exit tubes.

Woo hoo second chapter! Look at me go, I must have way too much free time.

Ichigo: Well you _could_ revise for your French exam.

WF: What French exam (looks at exam timetable) Crap! (Runs and tries to cram as much knowledge as possible into her head)

Ichigo: (sighs) Review please!


	3. Making Me Mad

Disclaimer: Girls just wanna have fun! Woo!

Thanks to:

Twister91: Ichigo: (grabs Antauri) I'll show you spank! (Spanks him) Now, leave Malachite alone!

Antauri: (tearing up)

Ichigo: Don't you even-

Antauri: (starts crying _loudly_) Ichigo, don't you love me anymore? (Runs out crying)

Ichigo: Oh Antauri, wait! (Chases him)

Spirits Shadow: WF: (still trapped in box) Let me out! Please! Anyone?

Sprx and Otto: (using the box to play footie)

WF: (is bashed about) Help!

Guy who reads too much fantasy: WF: Oh! Ok, um I guess I misunderstood! Heh heh (sweat drops) Nova! You can't go on an assassin mission anymore! Sorry!

Nova: (is wearing black ninja outfit) Aaaaw...

Blossom268703: WF: Thanks (gets kicked again) Gah, help!

Astral Firefly: WF: Thanks and to show my appreciation, here's a Ryou doll! (Throws one to Violet) Enjoy!

Beastfire: Antauri: (enters sniffing and wiping his eyes) that's cos it did! To me!

Malachite: Suck it up you big baby!

Antauri: Why you little- (chases him around the room)

SRMTHFG fan: WF: What the? Hey Jet, go attack your own reviewers! (Gets kicked about in box again by Jet) OWOWOW!

**Now He's Making Me Mad!**

Antauri leaned over Ichigo as she woke up, her eyes fluttered open and she looked up into his smiling face. He nuzzled his nose against hers,

"Hey Pretty Girl, I've got a surprise for you!" he whispered before kissing her. "Want it?" Ichigo nodded excitedly

"Yeah! What is it?" she asked, springing up in bed, "Tell me!" Antauri laughed and tapped the side of his nose. Ichigo pouted, "C'mon Antauri, do I need to do '_the face'?" _she mock threatened.

"Ok, I'll show you" he said quickly and hopped off the bed, Ichigo scrambled out of bed to follow him.

When he reached the main room, he stopped. Ichigo appeared beside him, looking around wildly,

"Where is it? Tell me, I can't see it!" she complained, hovering in circles trying to see whatever the surprise was. Antauri laughed and flew up next to her; he had a big smug grin on his face,

"I'll tell you..." he whispered and Ichigo shot up so they were touching nose to nose. Her eyes glittered with excitement, Antauri's grin widened, "...after breakfast" he finished, causing Ichigo to nearly fall out of the air.

"What?" she cried as Antauri flew towards the kitchen, "but Antauriiiiiiiiiii" she whined.

"No buts, now come and have breakfast" he ordered, still grinning widely. Ichigo pouted and complied.

After breakfast, which had been rather eventful after Malachite 'accidentally' slipped and made his eggs land on Antauri's head, Ichigo dragged Antauri into the main room again. She had begged him constantly throughout breakfast to give her a hint, but he just grinned mischievously at her and continued eating, so now she was almost bursting with curiosity.

"Alright" Antauri said, breathless from laughing at her child-like technique. Ichigo cheered happily and looked at him expectantly, he smiled at her. "Close your eyes" he ordered and Ichigo was quick to comply. He smiled and took her hand, guiding her over to the exit tubes.

Ichigo felt the rush of air as she was pulled up one of the exit tubes, she cracked one eye open slightly and saw that they were in the Brain Scrambler. Antauri looked back and saw her looking around.

"Hey, no peeking!" he cried, covering her eyes with his hands. Ichigo giggled slightly,

"So where are we going?" she asked, but she could tell what the answer would be.

"It's a surprise" he answered and Ichigo rolled her eyes. She felt fabric touching her face and gasped slightly,

"What's going on?" she asked in a fearful tone, but her fear ebbed away when she felt Antauri's hand on her shoulder.

"Relax, it's just a blindfold" he soothed, "so you don't start peeking again" Ichigo relaxed again and heard the engines whirr to life and felt the force push her as they blasted off.

Antauri felt the pressure lift as they left the planet's gravity and he relaxed, he looked over at Ichigo, who was looking around despite not being able to see. He reached over and pulled her onto his lap, he felt her tense slightly but relax again when she knew it was him. Giving up on trying to figure out the surprise, she rested her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. Antauri smiled at her lovingly and kissed her forehead.

It felt like hours until they arrived, but maybe that was because she couldn't see. Still, Ichigo felt the jet slow down and guessed they were near their destination. A little while later, there was some shaking and a bump as the jet landed on the planet's surface, she was guided out by Antauri again and felt the blindfold lift off.

"Open your eyes" he whispered to her.

When she did, she was confronted by what can only be described as a utopia. It was filled with lush green forests, large beautiful flowers, a waterfall which had a rainbow soaring over it and many rivers branching off of it. They were standing on a large hill which was covered with pretty blue-white flowers and led straight into the paradise. Ichigo was speechless when she turned to Antauri,

"I..." she felt tears well up in her eyes and launched herself onto Antauri. She kissed him deeply and ran little butterfly kisses down his jaw. "I love you" she whispered, eyes shining with tears.

Antauri grinned at her and placed her back on the ground,

"Ichigo" he started and his eyes seemed to smoulder intensely, "when we first met, I have to admit that I was a little unsure of how I felt. I was infatuated instantly by your charm and wonderful personality, not to mention your beautiful face, but I didn't know if it was wrong. After all, you were human and I was a mere animal, I felt like I could never possibly be worthy of your affections. But... when you touched my cheek, I felt like I'd been touched by an angel and I knew instantly that I'd fallen in love with you. I decided then that, even if I could never be with you, I'd would always protect you. And... When you were stolen away by Mandarin, I felt like I'd betrayed you... like I'd let you down." Ichigo looked awed by Antauri's intense speech and touched his cheek, he placed a hand over hers and rubbed it gently as he continued, "...just like when I watched you fall into that abyss. I felt like I'd lost part of my soul and I would've given anything to have you back. Wha-what I'm trying to say is... I need you Ichigo. More than you will ever know, you have no idea how vital you are in my life. If... if I didn't have you then... then I wouldn't be able to go on living. I'd willingly put my life on the line to be with you... oh, Ichigo... I just... I mean..." he cupped her face and gazed into her cerulean eyes, "I love you" he kissed her passionately and took her hand as he sunk onto one knee, "that's why I wanted to ask you this" he reached out his hand towards the Brain Scrambler and a dark blue box levitated out. He took it out of the air and turned back to Ichigo, "Ichigo... will you... WHERE'S THE RING?" Ichigo snapped out of her awed and very teary expression and looked confused as Antauri suddenly started searching everywhere.

"It's gone... just vanished! I know I had before we left, I checked! Where could it-" he stopped and they both looked up as Malachite dangled out of the Brain Scrambler holding something shiny tightly in his hand.

"Missing something?" he asked casually, Antauri looked stunned for a moment before his expression darkened.

"You're dead!" he growled, launching himself at the little monkey. They both ended up behind the Brain Scrambler and Ichigo sweat dropped as she heard clashing of metal, screams, bumps and _lots_ of swearing.

Eventually, Antauri reappeared muttering darkly and glaring at Malachite, who was teary eyed and rubbing his sore rear. He walked back up to Ichigo and pouted slightly,

"It took me forever trying to get that speech just right" he sulked; Ichigo smiled sympathetically and kissed his nose.

"Never mind, I thought it was wonderful. I... never knew you loved me so intensely" she blushed and looked away for a moment "now, didn't you have something you wanted to ask me?" Antauri smiled at her, feeling much better than he had five minutes ago, and he sunk back down onto one knee, he took Ichigo's hand again,

"Ichigo... my angel, will you marry me?" he asked, looking sincere, and Ichigo felt the water works start up again.

"Yes" she sobbed happily, she jumped into Antauri's arms and kissed him passionately, "Yes, of course I will!" Antauri started to cry silently as well and they kissed again before Antauri held up the engagement ring. It wasn't a ring at all! It was a bracelet, made of pure white gold, crafted into two entwining ribbons, one encrusted in white diamonds, the other in pink quartz. On the lock was a heart made of gold and engraved into the inside was a message. Ichigo took the bracelet and looked down to read the inscription, which was hard as she was shaking so much, finally she managed to calm down and stop shaking and she read it,

'_Together forever, my sweet angel, Ichigo, I will love you for all eternity! Love Antauri'_ it read and Ichigo felt a fresh wave of tears forming.

"Oh Antauri" she sobbed as he took the bracelet and slid it onto her wrist, "it's beautiful! Thank you!" she hugged tightly and rested her head against his shoulder as she spoke in his ear,

"I couldn't have wished for a more wonderful husband! Oh Antauri, my aibou, I love you so much!" she whispered. This small speech was enough to make Antauri start crying too and they gazed at each other lovingly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! You love each other! Can we go home now? I'm hungry!" complained Malachite, shattering the perfect atmosphere.

Ichigo laughed and blushed slightly whilst Antauri's eye twitched out of irritation,

"I'm gonna throw him out at the nearest refuelling station!" he hissed, making Ichigo tap him on the shoulder and tutt mockingly.

"Now now, Antauri! Be nice!" she teased.

Antauri sighed and lifted himself and his bride to be into the Brain Scrambler,

"I just hope Zakuro won't be this much trouble!" he muttered to Ichigo, causing her to blush even more and start giggling. Malachite raised an eyebrow and shook his head,

'Adults' he thought as the jet blasted off the planet and back towards home.

Yay! A wedding, an unplanned wedding! (Sweat drops) Heh whoops! Oh well, review people and I'll put you in! Anyone wanna be a bridesmaid? I'm gonna have six, so the first six who ask are it!


	4. One Wedding and a Surprise!

Disclaimer: I like cereeeeeal!

Thanks to:

Lmann: Ichigo: Aaaaw it'll happen eventually! Just you wait and see!

Beastfire: WF: You _do_ realise that this is _Ichigo's _wedding! The same Ichigo that thrives on pink, glitter and cuteness! (Notices Ivy about to burn her wings off) Ok! No pink or dresses! But, do kimonos count as dresses?

Spirits Shadow: WF: Actually I'm kinda happy in this box! (Zaps a TV in and a sofa)

Ichigo: I don't think she expected that! And yeah, I'm half Japanese! My mum's Japanese and my dad's English! In fact, the wedding's gonna have a Japanese theme (like Jet's) and I'm gonna wear a special kimono!

P.S: I thought Jade didn't exist yet? Oh well, I'm thinking in too much detail!

Twister91: WF: Okay! (Realises something and pales) Wait, you trashed Antauri's room? But... Antauri shares a room with Ichigo! So that means... (Is cut off by a scream)

Ichigo: My stuff! What happened? (Picks up a shredded teddy bear and starts crying)

Antauri: (growls) now you've gone too far! (Chases Malachite around the cage with his Razor claws out)

Guy who reads too much fantasy: WF: Thanks! Hope I didn't scare you too much last time! Heh (Sweat drops)

**One Wedding and a Surprise!**

Ichigo sighed and looked over her shoulder at Antauri, who had his arms wrapped around her shoulders. She smiled as he slept on, looking amazingly at peace.

'I'm so lucky to have him' she thought as she stroked the engagement bracelet he'd given her.

Suddenly, she felt a lurch in her stomach and quickly flew to the toilet. The sudden movement awoke Antauri, who sat up looking slightly disorientated.

"Wha?" he asked groggily, looking around for Ichigo. Just then, he realised what the sound was that he heard and rushed into the bathroom,

"Ichigo?" he asked as he entered; he saw the white monkey bent over the toilet and, from the sound of it, she wouldn't be surfacing any time soon.

He waited patiently as the sound got softer until Ichigo managed to turn around slightly and smile weakly at him.

"Sorry that I woke you" she said croakily, her throat sore from retching. Antauri smiled at her sympathetically and touched her forehead,

"You don't seem to have a temperature" he concluded, looking slightly anxious, "maybe Gibson should have a look at you" he knew that the blue monkey would be awake at this hour, he liked to get up early and work on projects.

"Yeah..." agreed Ichigo, before diving back down the toilet bowl as more of yesterday's meals reappeared.

Gibson hmm'ed quietly as he checked various read outs from the tests he'd done, leaving Ichigo feeling like a lab animal after all the different tests and examinations she'd been through; beside her, Antauri looked anxious to know the outcome and what could be wrong with his fiancée.

"Well, what does it say?" he asked finally, breaking the silence. Gibson looked over at him in distaste before answering,

"I take it you and Ichigo were rather 'active' last night" he said in a criticising tone, Antauri spluttered and blushed slightly, he averted his eyes to the floor and Gibson took this reaction as a yes. He sighed slightly and looked over at Ichigo, who looked like death warmed up at the moment,

"You're pregnant" he said suddenly. So suddenly that it didn't register in Ichigo's brain,

"What?" she asked, looking confused, Gibson sighed again and pointed to his read outs,

"These tests show that you are pregnant" he explained. Ichigo looked stunned, as did Antauri, and Gibson turned to leave.

"I'm going to get some breakfast" he announced, leaving the shocked couple to talk.

It felt like hours until the silence was broken, Ichigo turned numbly and stared at Antauri,

"Pregnant?" she repeated, "_I'm_ pregnant?" then it hit her and she felt a massive smile take over her face. "I'm pregnant!" she leapt up and landed on Antauri, kissing him madly.

This snapped Antauri out of his reverie and he looked at Ichigo, he lifted her into his arms and placed her on one of the beds.

"So... you're having a baby" he realised and he felt pride and happiness fill his heart. "Oh my angel!" he cried, hoisting her into the air and spinning around, "we're going to be parents at last!" they both laughed and hugged warmly. Antauri reached down and placed a hand of Ichigo's stomach,

"We're going to have our little Zakuro at last!" he whispered and he felt tears form in his eyes. Ichigo gazed at him warmly and nuzzled his chest,

"I can't wait" she murmured.

Over the next few months, Antauri went from slightly overprotective to psychotically hoarding; he stayed with Ichigo wherever she went and glared at anyone who came near her.

Everyone was glad when the wedding rolled around, because it meant Antauri would be gone for a fortnight. But the relief was short-lived as everyone was soon rushing around tending to last minute problems.

Jet, Twister, Krystal, Jade, Ivy, Beastfire and Violet were the bridesmaids and they were helping the quickly widening Ichigo put on her wedding kimono. She wanted the wedding to be Japanese as she was half Japanese herself. The kimono was pure white and there was a hood which covered her head, Ivy pulled the sash around her waist with difficulty.

"Geez Ichigo! Why'd you have to get pregnant now?" she grunted and breathed a huge sigh of relief when she managed to tie the bow. Ichigo remained silent and seemed to not hear her as she had a distant look in her eyes,

"You're not regretting this, are you?" asked Jet, looking very worried. Ichigo shook her head and looked at her,

"No, I'm just thinking about how much my life changed since I arrived in Shugazoom. When I first came here, I was planning on studying at the university. I envisioned myself leaving with a degree in Arts and Drama then I'd go out to make my fortune... I never imagined that I'd get kidnapped and transformed into a robot monkey or... fall in love" her voice had become very soft at this point and her eyes shone with warmth. "And here I am, three years later, getting married to the guy of my dreams! My life's turned out so much better than I ever imagined it would!" she felt tears roll down her cheeks and Jet smiled at her understandingly, after all, she was married and had a child herself. She knew that it was the greatest feeling in the world. Everyone hugged the sobbing but smiling bride before they left to get ready themselves, leaving only Ivy to stay with Ichigo. She didn't need to go get ready because she'd refused to wear a kimono, so she simply put her hair up with a lotus clip. Ichigo was adding some finishing touches to her outfit and didn't turn around when she spoke to Ivy,

"Do you think you and Frus will get married?" she asked innocently causing Ivy to fall over with shock.

"Wha what?" she cried hysterically, she got up and was about to pound the little white monkey when she realised that Ichigo wasn't smirking. She just looked up at Ivy curiously, like a child would, and waited for Ivy's answer. Ivy felt the blush on her cheeks but managed looked Ichigo in the eye,

"Uh... maybe" she replied, feeling foolish, Ichigo smiled sincerely before going back to her finishing touches. Ivy paced around slightly, feeling awkward, before speeding out the door,

"I'mgonnagohelptheothers,bye!" she said as she flew out. Ichigo watched her go before giggling quietly to herself.

Antauri had also dressed in traditional Japanese ensemble; he wore a deep blue montsuki kimono with a white overcoat and dark blue trousers. But his outfit was the last thing he was worrying about.

"What if she says no?" he asked, panic-stricken over what could go wrong, "what if Skeleton King attacks and he captures her! She's in no shape to be fighting or trying to escape! What if she goes into labour? Maybe we should call this off for now" Antauri was becoming more and more hysterical with each question; Onyx shook his head and whacked Antauri upside the head.

"Calm down!" he yelled in the panicking groom's face, then his face softened slightly, "everything will be fine" he soothed, placing a hand on Antauri's shoulder. "Nothing will go wrong; everyone's made sure of that. So you're gonna go out there and marry that girlfriend of yours and make her happier than she's ever been! Got that?" he asked, Antauri nodded still shaking. He took a deep breath,

"Yes, Onyx, you're right! It would be wrong of me to disappoint everyone, especially Ichigo, because I'm nervous" everyone smiled encouragingly at Antauri. Onyx smiled before leaving to get ready himself, Antauri had asked him to be the priest and Onyx had researched like crazy about what Japanese priests had to do.

Antauri breathed deeply again and looked around, thinking deeply over the events of the past three years,

"Are you ready yet?" asked a little voice nearby, Antauri looked up and saw Petalite standing there, holding her basket of flowers. Ichigo wanted her to the flower girl and Antauri had to admit that she did look very sweet. She was in a peach coloured kimono with a peach blossom flower behind her ear and she was carrying a small basket that had no handles which was filled with blossoms. Antauri heard a spluttering sound behind him and saw Malachite ogling at Petalite. He smiled to himself at the young monkey's reaction,

'Just like how Otto had reacted to seeing Jet dressed up' he thought. He noticed that Petalite was staring at Malachite too and Antauri grinned.

He got up silently and left, leaving the pair alone for now; they were in such shock that they never noticed Antauri leave.

Finally Petalite seemed to recover and she blushed,

"You look... nice" she said shyly, looking down at the floor. Malachite blushed and looked down at himself; he was wearing a light green kimono and trousers, much like Antauri's, except he had no overcoat. He was made the ring bearer even though traditional Japanese weddings had no ring bearer, but Antauri didn't want him sitting around doing nothing. It would only give him an opportunity to plot something to do to Antauri. He looked up at Petalite and blushed,

"You too" he replied shyly, Petalite smiled and Malachite felt his blush deepen.

They stood there in silence until Jet came in to get them, and they both walked out together.

Antauri walked down the aisle and stood at the end with Onyx, he looked back at the guests and spotted some faces he recognised. One of them was Fae, Ichigo's creator, who was sitting on a cushion on the pew in front and was chatting amiably to Ichigo's parents and twin brother, Ryou. He also saw the Strip team there and a few other people from the hotel they'd been to, as well as his own team. Chiro was sitting on the front pew on the other side of the church and seemed to be fighting his tie at the moment, he stopped when Jinmay touched his hand and fixed the tie for him, Antauri chuckled quietly as the boy blushed and stammered a quick thanks. Beside him sat Sprx, who didn't look happy to be back in a suit, and was muttering to himself. Nova punched him in the arm for whatever he'd said and the two began to quietly argue until Gibson glared at them. Otto was standing next to Antauri, as Antauri had wanted someone experienced in this to be best man, just in case he screwed up.

Just then, the wedding music began to play and Antauri turned to see the large doors opening; he felt the sweat trickle down his neck as the bridesmaids entered, they were all wearing kimonos except Ivy. Then the bride entered, Antauri felt his jaw drop when he saw her. They walked up the aisle and Antauri could do nothing but stare at how beautiful Ichigo looked, the white kimono flowed and it gave the impression that she really was an angel. When she reached the end, Otto elbowed Antauri to wake him up,

"Ready?" whispered Ichigo as she stood up next to him. Antauri gulped and nodded,

"Yeah..." he whispered back before they turned to Onyx.

The ceremony started with the purifying of the couple then there were the vows. Antauri took the wedding ring and slipped it onto Ichigo's finger, all the while he stared into her eyes. Onyx smiled,

"You may kiss the bride" he announced and everyone cheered as the newlyweds kissed deeply.

They pulled back and Antauri lifted Ichigo into his arms. Ichigo hugged him tightly as he carried her up the aisle amid the cheers from their friends and family.

They got to the reception, which was in the Super Robot, and there was an uproar of cheering and people popping champagne. The music started and everyone started dancing, Ichigo felt a sharp pain and opted out for now. She sat in a large chair and watched everyone dance and have a good time.

Sprx and Nova came up to her and smiled,

"Man, I thought Antauri was gonna pass out before it started!" joked Sprx, Ichigo laughed and Sprx grinned, "And then, when you were coming down the aisle, I thought he'd slipped into a coma!" Ichigo laughed harder but then she stopped she felt a jolt of pain followed by something wet. She paled

"Oh no..." she whispered then she started panting as she felt the pain of the contractions, Nova and Sprx looked worried,

"What's wrong, Ichigo?" asked Nova, holding her friend's hand. Ichigo grimaced slightly,

"My waters broke! I'm... I'm going into labour!" she gasped and Nova leapt into action.

"Sprx, go find Antauri and Gibson! I'll help Ichigo to her bedroom!" Sprx nodded and ran off whilst Nova picked up Ichigo and carried her to the bedroom, "Deep breaths, Ichigo! Try and relax" she ran as quickly as she could without hurting Ichigo and made it to the bedroom in record time.

"Guys!" cried Sprx when he found Gibson and Antauri, who were together luckily; he skidded to a stop in front of them. "Ichigo's gone into labour!" he panted, "Nova took her up to your bedroom!" Antauri looked shocked and ran along on auto pilot. His mind began racing; were they ready for this? They were about to find out.

They arrived soon after and found that many of the bridesmaids were there too, offering advice and trying to help Ichigo relax. Antauri ran up to her and rested her head in his lap; she looked up at him with pain in her eyes.

"Antauri" she gasped, holding onto his hand tightly. "It hurts! It really really hurts!" she grimaced as she felt the baby start its descent into the world. Antauri stroked her forehead, trying to take her mind off of it,

"Shh it'll be ok, Ichigo. Just breathe" he soothed, Ichigo tried to comply and squeezed his hand for reassurance.

"C'mon Ichigo, just a little more!" said Gibson encouragingly. Ichigo cried out in pain as she gave one final almighty push and collapsed. She gasped and panted for breath as Gibson cleaned up the baby robot monkey. He smiled and handed the child over to its parents,

"It's a girl" he announced happily, and Antauri gazed down proudly at his daughter who was nestled in her mother's arms. She had black fur and pink metal parts, her wide eyes were a light blue and the gem on her forehead was a dark pink inverted heart. Small black wings floated behind her and she gazed up brightly at her parents, Ichigo felt tears roll down her face,

"Hello my dear sweet Zakuro!" she sobbed as she hugged her daughter close. "I've waited so long to see you!"

Everyone smiled at the mother and child before turning to the father. Antauri sat on his knees, crying silently, before he managed to move up next to them, he smiled down at his daughter.

"Hello, Zakuro" he said quietly and he took the baby from Ichigo. She squealed happily as she was moved and wrapped her arms around Antauri's neck.

Jet laughed,

"Looks like she's a daddy's girl!" she said, making everyone else laugh as well.

And as they laughed, Malachite entered. He walked up and looked at the new baby,

"What's she called?" he asked as the baby reached down at him,

"Zakuro" Ichigo replied, watching her daughter reach out to Malachite. He raised an eyebrow and came closer; the girl looked amazed as she slowly reached out towards his face then suddenly poked him in the eye. Malachite clapped his hands over his eye and howled loudly, whilst Zakuro leaned back against her father and laughed. Antauri chuckled quietly and hugged his daughter close,

"That's my girl" he whispered to her as Malachite ran crying to Jet.

Whoa, that was... so long! Oh well, yay Zakuro exists at last! And it seems Malachite's gonna be in big trouble. LOL, review people and I'll give you some cake!


	5. Revenge is a Black Monkey

Disclaimer: Just when you think you're out, they drag you back in again!

Thanks to:   
Beastfire: WF: Triplets!

Ichigo: Wow… I don't think… even _I_ could cope with that many!

Twister91: Ichigo: (hugging Zakuro) Aw come on Malachite! She's just a baby! It probably means she likes you!

Antauri: Yeah, likes beating you up! Mwahahahahaha! (Lightning flashes in the background)

WF: That was… creepy.

Lazzynewtt: Ichigo: Sure you can have some ca- (notices cake is missing and crumbs lead to WF's box) Fae… where's the cake?

WF: (mouthful) Dunno! (Notices Jonathan looking scared and poofs him inside the box)

Box: (screams are heard)

Blossom268703: WF: Thanks!

Zakuro: Tanks!

Everyone: Aaaaaaaw!

Spirits Shadow: Ryou: And I'm an uncle! (Starts playing with Zakuro)

WF: Oh, I definitely don't mind being in this box now! (Rustling is heard, and then more screams) Heh heh…

4Evermonkeyfan: WF: Uh… Zakuro, you say it!

Zakuro: Tanks!

Everyone: Aaaaaaaw!

**Revenge is a Black Monkey**

"ANTAURI!"

Antauri rolled over and mumbled as the door slammed open; he opened one eye blearily and saw Malachite standing there, looking rather unhappy. He gave the young green and white monkey a questioning look and noticed he had something in his hand.

Malachite held up the something and Antauri saw that it was, in fact, his daughter. Chewing on what appeared to be a guitar string. Malachite held up the other hand and Antauri saw a mangled guitar which was missing a few strings. Even though he was barely conscious, his mind put two and two together and…

"Oh" he said, realising what this meant. He sat up and took his daughter from the quietly seething monkey, pulling the guitar string out of her small grip and giving it back to its owner. Zakuro reached out and gave a small sob as it was handed to Malachite,

"Mine…" she complained softly and started sniffling. Antauri could see where this was leading and quickly gave her something else. Zakuro looked at the large soft toy elephant for a moment before grabbing it and chewing on one of its ears happily.

Sighing in relief, Antauri walked out of the room and placed her back in her pen in the main room. Malachite followed, glaring quietly at Antauri and waiting for him to say something.

Satisfied that his daughter was content for now, Antauri turned to Malachite. Malachite raised an eyebrow expectantly and waited,

"How did she get it?" asked Antauri, sounding concerned, and Malachite fell over in disbelief. He got up again and glared at the black monkey,

"That's it? After your daughter completely destroyed my most cherished possession, that's all you can say?" he cried hysterically.

Malachite's screaming woke up the others and soon Jet came running in, looking just _slightly_ annoyed at being awoken so early,

"Shut up, ya wee numpty!" she cried as she threw her alarm clock at the pair and dragged Malachite out of the room.

Antauri watched them leave and winced when the door slammed shut; he sighed and turned back to his daughter. She was still playing with the elephant and the newly acquired alarm clock, Antauri knelt beside her and she looked up at him. He grinned and picked her up,

"Looks like you've made quite a nuisance of yourself this morning!" he teased and rubbed noses with her, Zakuro giggled at the action and hugged him. "Let's go back to bed, it's really early and all that yelling might've woken up Mummy!" he said and Zakuro nodded.

They got back to the bedroom and found that Ichigo had indeed been woken by the racket, she looked over at them sleepily and Antauri smiled apologetically. Zakuro leapt out of Antauri's arms and onto the bed, she crawled over to her mother and sat in her lap,

"Sorry about all the noise, Ichigo. It seems _someone_ upset Malachite this morning!" explained Antauri and he tickled Zakuro to point out who the 'someone' was. She giggled and sat up,

"Noisy monkey" she exclaimed and patted her ears to accentuate her remark.

"Yes…" agreed Ichigo quietly, "very noisy. He woke me up!" then she yawned and snuggled back into bed. Antauri smiled at his sleeping wife and picked up his daughter. He put Zakuro in her crib, tucking her in and watched her eyelids shut slowly as she fell asleep. He smiled at her warmly before getting into bed beside Ichigo and falling asleep.

Later that day, when everyone was awake, Malachite brought up his savaged guitar again.

"You shouldn't have left it where she could reach it" explained Jet as she helped the other girls cook breakfast. Zakuro was beside her, waving a spoon, and attempting to help; Jet cooed at her before turning to her son.

"But, I didn't! It was on my shelf!" he argued, pouting slightly. "How was _I_ meant to know she could fly already?" Jet looked down sympathetically at him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright; I don't blame you for what happened. How about we get you a new guitar? Like that one you've had your eye on for months now" she bargained and watched her son's eyes light up,

"Really? Thanks Mum, you're the best!" he hugged Jet tightly and started running towards the door.

"Oh Malachite, take Zakuro out with you! I don't want her to get hurt by the stove whilst I'm cooking!" she called causing Malachite to try and turn back but he tripped over his feet instead, Zakuro pointed at him with the spoon and laughed. He got up and glared at the little black and pink monkey,

"But Muuuuuuum" he whined, "I wanna go play with Petalite!"

"Well Zakuro can play with you too! Besides, it'll be more fun with three than two!" with that said Jet turned back to the stove, meaning that there was no arguing. Malachite sulked and grabbed Zakuro off the table,

"And look after her, Malachite! I don't want her to get hurt, so you're in charge of her wellbeing!" Jet called out as the pair left. She winced as the door slammed behind them.

"I can't believe it!" cried Malachite, when they were out of range, "I'm stuck with a dumb baby all day, now what?" he asked rhetorically,

"How about we play a game?" asked a voice behind him. Malachite jumped and spun around,

"Petalite, umm hi! Ho-how long have you been standing there?" he asked, feeling a sweat drop form on the back of his head. She laughed,

"Long enough to hear that you really don't like babies!" she replied and Malachite put a hand behind his head sheepishly.

"Oh you think I don't like babies? No way, I was just kidding!" he hugged Zakuro at this point, who squeaked in complaint and whacked him on the head with her spoon, he gritted his teeth against the pain and urge to throttle the little demon spawn and grinned widely at Petalite instead. "Heh, little tyke, cute"

Petalite looked at him disbelievingly for a moment before dismissing it and smiling,

"Great, then let's play 'Family'!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands. Malachite's cheerful grin fell instantly and he looked worried.

"What?" he asked too shocked to notice the whacks Zakuro was giving him on the head with her spoon. Then it seemed to sink in, "Oh umm… sure! I'd love to! Let me just put Zakuro in her pen and-"

"Oh no, she can be the baby!" cut in Petalite eagerly, taking Zakuro from Malachite and bouncing her like a mother would. Malachite watched Zakuro immediately change her attitude and she giggled innocently at Petalite, dropping the spoon that had dents from being beaten on Malachite's hard head, and generally being sweet and nice. He glared at Zakuro,

'That baby is evil' he concluded before trying to think of a way to get out of this,

"But it's nearly time for Zakuro's nap! So she can't get over excited or else she won't sleep!" he said, praying that it would work. It didn't. Petalite looked up at the clock briefly before looking back at Malachite,

"Malachite…" she said, "Zakuro's nap is in 4 hours time! I _think_ she'll be able to play with us for a while"

"Crud" Malachite muttered under his breath and Petalite glared at him.

"Unless you're trying to get out of playing 'Family'!" she scrutinised, watching his reaction through narrowed eyes. He jumped slightly; guilt flashing across his face briefly. Petalite saw this and started tearing up, "That's it, isn't it? You don't want to play with me, do you?" she cried accusingly before running away crying with Zakuro still in her arms. Zakuro watched this interaction quietly and looking slightly stunned as she saw Malachite give chase. Guessing this was some sort of game; she squealed and made faces at Malachite. He glared and swore at her, but Fate seemed to really hate Malachite today. Petalite stopped running and turned slowly towards Malachite, he skidded to a stop when he saw the dark look on her face and nearly wet himself with fear of what she might do. She placed Zakuro on the ground gently and advanced on him slowly

"_What _did you call me?" she whispered in rage, Malachite was shaking by now and had trouble even getting the words out,

"B-but Petalite, I wasn't talking to _you_. It was-" he was cut off by a slap across his face. He turned back to Petalite, feeling tears form in his eyes but he was too proud to let them fall. Well, he _did_ have Onyx's genes in him. "What'd you that for, you idiot!" he cried, trying to keep his voice steady.

"Because of what you called me!" she yelled back and soon they were in a yelling match.

They were so absorbed in yelling at each other that they didn't notice the shadow looming over them or Zakuro's cries for help when the shadowy figure picked her up and disappeared, leaving only a note behind.

"Oh why don't you just leave?" Petalite screamed finally, red in the face from so much yelling.

"Fine, I will! C'mon Zakuro!" he shrieked back, turning to pick up said baby monkey; but he stopped and looked around where the spot she'd been. He saw the note in her place and picked it up, reading it quietly. "Uh oh" he said quietly.

Looks like Malachite's in trouble! And so's Zakuro!

Ichigo: YOU LET MY BABY GET KIDNAPPED?

WF: Calm down, Ichigo!

Ichigo: (charges up energy attack) I'll show you 'calm down'! (Starts firing at WF)

WF: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH, review please!


	6. Gotta Be Cruel to Be Kind

Disclaimer: (is under a mountain of Psychology and Art homework) uuuuuh…

Thanks to:

Moonlit Sea: Ichigo: Yes, and _someone _is going to pay for that!

WF: Eheheh… heh? (Runs)

Twister91: WF: Careful what you say, Malachite! You're already in deep trouble for losing the baby!

Beastfire: Ichigo: I bet they'll be adorable!

Sprx: And evil! (Gets clobbered by all the females)

Astral Firefly: WF: (fell asleep at Violet's speech) zzzzzz….

Ichigo: (elbows her)

WF: (snaps awake) Banana sandwich! Huh? Oh, thanks! (Goes back to sleep)

Lazzynewtt: WF: (coughs and turns slightly pink) It depends on how old your brother is, if he's younger than you then I did absolutely nothing! (Tries to look innocent) if he's older then… well, you're too young to hear! (Blushes and hides in her box)

4Evermonkeyfan: Ichigo: Of course we don't mind! And sure, Adriana can be a godmother.

WF: In fact, can I borrow her for one of the last chapters of this story? And you can borrow Ryou, Zakuro or Ichigo if you want!

Lmann: Everyone: (groans at the bad joke)

Ryou: That deserves a thrashing!

Everyone: (starts pummelling Lmann for the joke)

**Gotta Be Cruel To Be Kind**

"YOU WHAT?" bellowed Antauri when he was told what had happened. "How could you be so careless? You were supposed to watching her! Now she's been kidnapped!" Malachite hung his head,

"Calm down, Antauri! You can't blame Malachite for everything, it was my fault too!" argued Petalite, stepping up for Malachite. Malachite smiled slightly at her, but he soon looked miserable again. Ichigo decided to intervene,

"Yes, dear, we can't waste time pointing fingers! We need to find out who took Zakuro and where they went" she reasoned, placing a hand on Antauri's shoulder and guiding him away from the younger monkeys.

Antauri took a deep breath and closed his eyes; he stayed like that for a few moments whilst he meditated on the problem.

"You're right, Ichigo" he said after a while, looking considerably calmer, "We can't waste any time, Zakuro may be in grave danger!" Ichigo nodded, though everyone could see the fright in her eyes. Antauri hugged her close, "We'll get her back, Ichigo. Don't worry!" he stroked the back of her head and she smiled slightly.

Just then, Gibson's voice came over the intercom,

"Everyone, I've discovered something quite disturbing! Meet me in the main room!" he called and soon they were gathered together. Every face looked pensive as Gibson placed a slide in the giant magnifier and a fingerprint came up on the large screen,

"I found this fingerprint on the note left by the kidnapper" he explained, as he tapped a few buttons. "I've tested it against every enemy we've ever encountered as well as our allies." The screen flashed as names came up with their fingerprints, none matched until he reached one. The screen flashed 'Perfect match' and everyone gasped at the name onscreen,

"Ichigo…" Malachite read faintly, he felt numb and his head seemed to turn on its own in Ichigo's direction. Ichigo looked shocked then the tears started,

"No…" she whispered, "I wouldn't steal my own daughter! That's madness!"

Gibson nodded,

"Indeed, it is. But you are not the only person we know with your exact fingerprint, are you?" he asked rhetorically. Antauri seemed to understand

"So if it is not Ichigo and the fingerprint matches hers then it must be…"

"Ryou…" Ichigo cut in, quietly. In fact she looked like she was about to collapse and Antauri held her in case she did. "No…" she whispered and then the tears she'd been holding back finally fell, "Why?"

Ryou was helping one of the new assistants clear up a mess in the salon. Being her first day, she'd been quite nervous and managed to knock over a bottle of massage oil. Ryou smiled pleasantly at the new girl, she smiled back shyly before bending her head down over her work. Ryou heard the girl giggle quietly and he rolled his eyes,

'Honestly, why does every girl I smile at seem to think I'm flirting with them?' he pondered as they worked on clearing the stain out of the floor tiles. The room was mostly silent, except for the sounds of the mops and water splashing, and Ryou had to admit he liked working here, even if he did get hit on a lot by girls.

Suddenly the peace was shattered, as a hoard of robot monkeys swarmed in and surrounded him. The girl with him screamed in fright and slipped on the slippery floor, she fell with a loud thump and he knelt to see if she was alright.

But he never got a chance to ask, because he was suddenly whisked away in a flurry of angry chattering and fur.

Ryou grunted as he was dropped rather unceremoniously on the floor, he looked up and saw the Monkey Team glaring at him as well as some faces he'd seen briefly at the party. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle as they continued to glare silently; he felt a shiver run through his body at all the unblinking eyes bearing down on him. He turned away from them and saw his sister staring at him, tears in her eyes. His uncomfort seemed to vanish instantly and he rushed up to Ichigo with concern,

"Ichigo what's-" he was cut off as a black blur appeared in front of Ichigo and lashed out at him. He pulled back and felt pain in his arm; he looked down and saw three deep gashed there where Antauri's claws had dug in. He looked up again and Ichigo sobbed at the look in his eyes, swimming in those eyes which matched her own so well was a mixture of emotions. Fear, confusion, hurt and concern seemed to fight for dominance and the longer Ichigo gazed into them, the harder she found it to believe he was really the one who'd stolen her baby.

The others growled at him and every time he went to try and ask Ichigo what was wrong, Antauri would lash out. Ryou finally gave up and sat in silence watching Antauri. He seemed to have lost all rational thought, in fact he seemed almost primal, as he growled at the boy with his teeth bared showing vicious canines and his sharp claws ready to tear through him like butter. But his eyes told a different story, Ryou could see pain and sorrow in them, as well as the outward anger that came from them.

'What's wrong with him?' he thought, 'What could have happened that would be bad enough to cause this?'

He didn't think for long, because he heard a lower pitched growl behind him. He turned and saw another robot monkey, green this time, prowling up to him with a pair of saws instead of hands.

'That's Otto' he thought as he blanched, which was some feat for an albino, and he stood up.

As if he'd been waiting for this, the green monkey leapt at him and sliced through the air in front of him. The force alone was enough to knock Ryou back down, but the fear and shock stopped him from catching himself as he fell. His head hit the floor hard and everything swirled before him, he felt a weight on his chest and he looked up to see the monkey glaring at him. He pulled Ryou up by the shirt so they were nose to nose and bared his teeth,

"Why did you steal Zakuro?" he demanded, Ryou blinked in confusion.

"What?" he asked, looking amazed, the monkey's grip tightened and Ryou found it hard to breathe.

"You heard me!"

"What have you done with her, you monster!" cried Nova, closing in behind Otto. The others surrounded him as well, making escape impossible. But he was too confused to think about escaping.

"But, I haven't done anything with her!" he cried, "you must believe me; I haven't even seen her since the wedding!"

Antauri came forward and grabbed his face with one clawed hand, the sharp claws pierced his soft skin easily and he winced in pain.

"Liar!" Antauri hissed quietly, the word seemed to cut in further than the claws and Ryou winced from it. Antauri came so close that Ryou could feel his breath on his face, "Tell me where you've taken her! NOW!" he roared and Ryou whimpered in fright. He felt tears well up in his eyes and his body shook,

"I don't know!" he sobbed, the tears running down in little streams, "I haven't done anything, please believe me!"

"Don't lie to me!" shrieked Antauri, raising his other hand ready for the final strike. Ryou closed his eyes and braced himself,

"Antauri, wait!" Ichigo rushed forward and held Antauri's arm fast to prevent him from attacking, "I believe him!" she cried as she gently but firmly brought Antauri's hand down to his side. Antauri looked amazed,

"What?" he asked softly, then his anger seemed to flare up again, "How can you believe him? He stole our daughter!" Ichigo remained calm despite her husband's fury and she turned his face to look at Ryou,

"Look in his eyes, does that truly look like an evil minded person to you?" she asked. Antauri gazed down into Ryou's large frightened blue eyes. He could see that the boy had been telling the truth and he felt guilt replaced every ounce of fury and anger he'd had. He felt the guilt stab at his heart as he pulled his claws out of Ryou's face, causing him to wince as he watched the blood flow out slowly.

"Gibson…" he said quietly, "get Ryou to the medical room and treat him" Gibson nodded quietly and helped the boy to his feet; Ryou stumbled slightly as he followed the blue monkey but they were soon gone.

When they were gone, the others began to ponder the problem more deeply,

"How do you know Ryou's innocent?" Onyx asked and Ichigo smiled at him.

"It's a twin thing. We have a tendency to be able to tell what the other is thinking or feeling, and I could tell that Ryou was innocent and genuinely confused" she explained. The others nodded, looking slightly confused but they just accepted that it was one of those weird Ichigo things that they wouldn't understand. It went up there on the list along with her obsession with Tokyo Mew Mew and her addiction to chicken nuggets and sour cream. (Yum!)

"So now that Ryou has been proven innocent, our next question is who has managed to obtain your fingerprints? And how do we find them?" asked Antauri and the room was filled with quiet thinking.

Ryou and Gibson re-entered amid all this pondering and they too began to think. Nova rushed up to Ryou and gave him a bone crushing hug, looking worried that they may have done some invisible damage to him, Sprx snorted at her and Gibson looked mildly annoyed.

"Please, Nova, we've only just got out of the med bay! I don't want to go back in and treat Ryou for broken ribs too!" whined Gibson, sounding exasperated. Ryou shot him an apologetic look and patted the yellow monkey's head as she continued to simper over his condition.

"I thought you were over him?" muttered Sprx, looking very envious (of Ryou, not Nova). Nova looked over at him and purposely snuggled closer to Ryou's chest, causing the red monkey to growl quietly and storm over to Antauri and Ichigo. Nova chuckled as he started muttering darkly and didn't notice the dark figure behind her until it suddenly leapt.

"Ryooooooouuuu!" it squealed, knocking Nova flying and taking her place. Nova leapt up to fight off this new threat and saw that it was, in fact, Jet. She was now in Nova's spot, snuggling and drooling over the teenaged boy, and purring too. Nova felt a vein in her temple pulsate and she stomped over to the bishounen-napper. (Bishounen means 'pretty boy' in Japanese)

"Hey, Jet!" she cried, trying to pull Jet off, "That's my place!" she tried her hardest but couldn't pry the monkey off, who seemed to have glued herself to Ryou. Nova growled and ground her teeth in frustration,

"If you keep doing that, you'll wreck your teeth" she said casually, without looking away from Ryou and she smirked, "Besides, why would he want an old hag like you, when he could have a beautiful young monkey like me?" she posed to prove her point, winking at Ryou and he blushed.

'How do I get into these messes?' he cried mentally as the black and white monkey nuzzled his chest again, Nova's eye twitched and the vein started to grow.

"Old hag am I?" she cried hysterically, "I'll show you, old hag!" and with that, she leapt onto Jet and the two started scrapping.

Antauri tried to block out the noise but it seemed to get louder the more he tried not to listen and he felt a vein on his temple begin to pulsate as well.

"WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT UP!" he suddenly bellowed and everyone froze, the black monkey panted slightly and grabbed the pair that'd been fighting only moments before. "Look, neither of you is helping with the real matter at hand and squabbling over a boy is truly a pathetic waste of time and energy!" he turned to Jet; eyes narrowed menacingly, "Jet, you're already married and have a kid!" Nova stuck her tongue out at Jet before Antauri turned on her, "And _you_ already have a boyfriend and you also know that Ryou is gay! I hardly think he appreciates you two treating him like a sex toy!" the two females blushed and bowed their heads. "Now, apologise!"

"Sorry" they both mumbled, looking at the floor and twiddling their fingers. Antauri humphed at them and stalked away, leaving them to look embarrassed.

Meanwhile, Petalite had left the mayhem on the main room and was searching for Malachite. She'd seen him leave and had followed him, she stopped and listened. She could hear someone playing a guitar, she followed the sound and it led her to Malachite's bedroom. She opened the door and saw Malachite sitting on his bed, happily playing.

"Malachite" she cried, "what are you doing? The others are all trying to find Zakuro, yet you're just sitting around doing nothing!" Petalite watched as he looked up at her and she saw that he looked positively ecstatic about Zakuro's disappearance,

"Of course" he replied, "now that that thing isn't around anymore, I don't have to worry about my things getting broken or everyone cooing over every dumb thing she does, or being against me all because she's 'just a baby'!" he had a mad glint in his eye, "Don't you see? I'm free again!" he leapt up and laughed madly. Petalite looked unimpressed,

"So you're glad that someone stole her away and now she's sitting somewhere alone and scared?" asked Petalite, Malachite stopped his cheering and actually looked a little guilty.

"Well, there's no need to put it like that! Besides that thing got what she deserved!" argued Malachite, crossing his arms, "She was always getting away with breaking my things and throwing things at me, now she's getting her just desserts! Karma rules, baby!" Petalite slapped him across the face,

"Listen to yourself! How can you be so heartless? Zakuro could be injured or worse and all you care about is being the centre of attention again! Don't you remember what you were like before she came along? You'd constantly annoy Antauri and get him in trouble, now you're getting the same! If anyone here deserves their just desserts it's you! You jerk!" Malachite watched her pant as she finished and he actually looked shocked. Then he looked thoughtful, was Petalite right? He thought back to when Ichigo and Antauri were looking after him, all the pranks he pulled on Antauri then he'd run off to Ichigo and cry, all just to get Antauri in trouble for his amusement. Heck, he even ruined Antauri's proposal to Ichigo because he was bored! Petalite was right, he was a jerk.

Petalite watched as Malachite seemed to make his decision; he looked up at her with a determined expression and grabbed her hand,

"Petalite…" he started, "you're right. I'm sorry for being such a jerk before, can you forgive me?" Petalite smiled at him,

"Of course!" she said chirpily.

Malachite's POV (Why? Because I can!)

We smiled at each other and then I felt a force pulling me closer to her, our faces were getting nearer and nearer. Any closer and we'd-

"Malachite!" the sudden cry shook us awake and we both jumped apart, blushing. My mum ran in and she looked slightly beat up, "there you two are! C'mon Gibson thinks he's located Zakuro!" and with that we all ran to the spaceships.

'Dammit!' I thought, 'the kid ain't even _here,_ and she annoys me!'

Five… pages long. My God. But at least the chapter's done! Next chapter, we find out who took Zakuro and why! And I'm gonna write another fic soon, called 'Fairy Tale Fun!' But for now, review peeps!


	7. Childish Minds

Disclaimer: Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese

Thanks to:

Lmann: Thanks!

Moonlit Sea: Ichigo: Pony! sees OceanWave is gone Where'd she go? looks sad and eyes go all puppy dog like and cute

Crazy fangirl: nearly squeezes Ichigo to death you're so cute!

Ichigo: Ok, I won't hug OceanWave anymore! Just get her off!

WF: Hehe, waves wand and the nutter disappears thanks MS!

Twister91: WF: Mwahaha I'm so cruel to Malachite!

Zakuro: filming Malachite banging his head against the wall this'll be gweat!

Lazzynewtt: WF: Is he? grins widely and glomps him then drags him into the box again

more screams are heard

Beastfire: Ryou: sweat drops yeah that happens to most girls who find out! is suddenly glomped by Nova and sighs But some are still persistent!

Blossom268703: WF: Thanks!

4Evermonkeyfan: Ichigo and Ryou: Aaaw! hug Adriana Thanks honey!

WF: Stop doing that creepy twin thing!

Ichigo and Ryou: No!

Astral Firefly: Ryou: sighs for the last time, I did not kidnap her!

Ichigo: Yeah, does this look like the face of a kidnapper? Points at Ryou who's doing big innocent puppy dog eyes

Ryou: gets glomped by Violet Gah, help!

**Childish Minds**

Zakuro looked around; she was in a big scary place that was full of nasty people and no night lights. She couldn't understand it, one minute she was with Malachite and Petalite and the next she was grabbed and thrown in here. A chuckle behind her caught her attention and she turned to see a giant skeleton leering down at her, Zakuro didn't like the look of this skeleton man so she decided to call for help.

Skeleton King clutched his head in agony as the little monkey started to bawl _loudly_, he grabbed some Formless goo and shoved it in his ears to block the noise then he turned to Zakuro, he grabbed her and held her up in one hand. Zakuro sniffled,

"Whewe's my mummy and daddy?" she asked, trying to look determined and brave. Skeleton King laughed at her act and brought her closer,

"Not here! But don't fret, _I'll_ take care of you" he grinned in what he thought was a convincing way, Zakuro shuddered, Skeleton King frowned and suddenly his eyes glowed. "Your parents abandoned you long ago; I found you and have nursed you since then, you would do anything for me"  
"Anything…for you" repeated Zakuro as the hypnotism took effect, her eyes hazed over and she hugged him. Skeleton King grinned at how easily she succumbed to his power and patted her head,

"Call me Dad" he said.

"Are we there yet?" asked Malachite for the millionth time, Antauri felt his eye twitch.

"No" he said through gritted teeth, squeezing the controls hard. Beside him, Ichigo gazed out looking worried, Antauri sighed and reached over with his tail, "Honey, don't worry, we'll save her. Try and rest, you'll need your strength" he wrapped his tail around Ichigo's waist and brought her closer,

"I'm scared, Antauri" she whispered as she looked up at him, "I'm scared for her. What if Skeleton King decides to get rid of her? Oh…I can't bear to think of living without our little girl"  
Malachite felt guilt creep through him as he heard Ichigo's distraught voice, to think he had been glad Zakuro was gone; Petalite placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him encouragingly. Malachite smiled back and looked out at the large white ship ahead, the Citadel of Bone.

"Well, we're in. Now what?" asked Sprx as they quietly crept along the corridors,

"We find Zakuro, duh" replied Malachite, Sprx glared at him before creeping ahead.

"I can sense her mind further down the corridor, come on!" said Antauri and they sped down silently to the doors.

"This is probably a trap, y'know" Sprx commented, Nova turned back to him,

"Hey, we've gotta check. Besides, we've broken out of all of Bone Bag's traps before" she said and they pushed open the door.

There, on the floor of the throne room, sat Zakuro. She looked over at them in surprise and Ichigo rushed in and to her,

"Oh Zaki! I was so scared that something bad had happened to you!" she sobbed and the others rushed up.

"See Sprx, nothing to be worried-"Nova was cut off as bars shot up through the floor and Zakuro teleported out of Ichigo's arms. The monkey team watched as the young monkey reappeared in Skeleton King's lap and smiled at him fondly.

"No…" whispered Ichigo then rage seemed to take over her, "let go of my daughter now, you scummy bag of bones!" she hit the bars but they didn't move vibrate, this cage had been made just for them.

Skeleton King chuckled at their efforts and patted Zakuro's head,

"She can go anytime she wants" he leant over and Zakuro looked up at him. "Do you want to go?" he asked and Zakuro shook her head vigorously, Skeleton King leant back and smirked at the horrified monkeys "there you are, she doesn't want to leave!"

Antauri snarled at the skeleton warlord,

"Release your control on my daughter, NOW!" he roared and Skeleton King laughed at his anger. He soon stopped and signalled to Mandarin, who took the monkeys and knocked them out.

Malachite woke up in a cell, his hands had been cuffed behind him and his feet were chained together. He groaned as he collected his thoughts and looked around, there were energy bars over the mouth of the cell and two Formless guards. He pulled on the chains but they too seemed to be made especially for the team, Malachite sighed and let his head loll forwards. Just then he felt a rush of air and he looked up to see Zakuro sitting in front of him, she seemed confused,

"Why you come here?" she asked abruptly,

'Demanded more like' thought Malachite then he looked up at her,

"What's it to you?" he asked back. Zakuro glared with such evil that it sent shivers down Malachite's back but he did his best not to show his discomfort, "And since when could you teleport?"

"Since she became my apprentice" came the reply, but it wasn't from Zakuro. Malachite looked around and saw Shadow in a corner (hope you don't mind that I nicked him, Twister!) Malachite growled and felt his lip curl up in a snarl, Shadow stepped forward completely unfazed by Malachite's reaction and picked up Zakuro.

"She makes quite a good pupil" he continued, "Fast learner and open-minded, with my help she'll be great!"

"With your 'help'" spat Malachite, "she'll be warped and twisted by your evil!" Shadow chuckled and looked Malachite in the eye,

"I hope so" he stated and placed Zakuro back on the floor. His laughter rang through the cell as he teleported away. Zakuro watched him disappear and waited a few moments before turning to Malachite again,

"Why you here?" she asked again, this time looking more determined to not let interruptions stop him from answering. Malachite looked up into her eyes and could only see the haze of Skeleton King's hypnosis; he felt his hope plummet when he saw it.

"To rescue you" he replied simply, yet this seemed enough to shock the baby monkey. She was stunned for a moment then she glared at him, she grabbed his chest and pulled him closer.

"Why?" she barked, had it not been so depressing Malachite might've laughed at the thought of an evil toddler, but right now he only felt sadness and guilt and even slightly afraid when he looked at her. He lowered his eyes before he answered,

"Because we love you" he said. Zakuro threw him back against the hard stone wall and stood up; she'd inherited Ichigo's shortness and didn't even reach Malachite's shoulder even when he was on his knees. Yet this didn't deter the feeling of impending doom in Malachite's stomach, if she attacked him then he would be defenceless because…because…he couldn't hurt her. Simple as that. She might be evil now but inside she was still the same Zakuro that had been hitting him with a spoon this morning. The same Zakuro who he constantly yelled at to leave him alone and would wreck his room when he left it unlocked and the same Zakuro that he missed despite that. Life wouldn't be better without her, in fact it would be much worse, he realised. He'd grown used to having her around and he had to admit he liked playing big brother to her. He looked at her with sadness in his eyes and he saw a flicker of life come back, for a split second Malachite saw the real Zakuro in them and she was scared.

"Zakuro…" he started, and she flinched at the tone he used, "please, we want you back. We miss you and we need you, _I_ need you" Zakuro stared at him and the hypnosis seemed to be fading. Malachite smiled as he thought that he'd done it but then Shadow appeared behind her and took her away.

"No…" he whispered then he lashed around furiously, "no!" he'd been so close. So close, yet…they still managed to take her. But he wasn't about to give up, not now, not ever!

"Here she is, my lord" said Shadow as he appeared in the throne room with Zakuro in his arms, she lashed about furiously trying to escape and Skeleton King raised an eyebrow at her.

"What's wrong with her?" he demanded and Shadow struggled with the wild tot until he was forced to put her on the ground,

"I believe the monkeys had a bad effect on her" replied Shadow when he got his breath back. Skeleton King growled low in his throat and balled one hand into a fist,

"Blast those filthy primates!" he hissed, "bring them here! It's time I got rid of them once and for all!"

Soon, the Monkey Team was brought out and was kneeling in front of him. Ryou was also dragged out and Shadow grinned at him sadistically, he ran a claw along Ryou's neck and Ryou whimpered in fright.

Skeleton King stood up and looked at them all,

"It is time I removed you nuisances from my way! You have blocked my destiny for too long already and now I will finish you and your precious planet! Then I shall rule the universe!" he laughed madly before composing himself. Malachite looked behind him and saw Zakuro sitting on the steps up to the throne looking uncertain. He pleaded with his eyes and Zakuro looked at him then at Skeleton King. Her mind seemed to be struggling with what to do and Malachite understood how hard it must be. She was two and she was being forced through more than most adults had. Malachite heard Ryou whimper again and saw Zakuro's eyes move and look at him, she looked at the human who was her uncle and something to click. She glared at Shadow,

"Leave him alone!" she yelled, startling everyone. Shadow turned to her and looked stunned,

"_What?"_ he hissed, looking rather frightening. But Zakuro stood her ground,

"I said leave the human alone!" she glared down at him and Shadow was about to move in to teach her a lesson when Skeleton King glared at him too. He shrunk back and moved away from the albino, muttering darkly.

Skeleton King turned back to the monkeys and smirked triumphantly,

"Goodbye, Monkey Team!" he lifted his sceptre and it transformed into a spear. He held it high above Malachite's head, ready to bring it down upon the monkey. Everyone closed their eyes and cried silently and Zakuro watched on with mixed feelings causing turmoil in her mind.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I finally updated! It only took forever! Sorry for taking so long, I don't really have an excuse. Review people!


	8. Payback's A Female Monkey

Disclaimer: Raining ducks!  
A/N: Geez took me long enough to update, didn't it? Sad thing is, I don't have an excuse either! But now I've finally been given enough pokes with the lazy stick and decided to wrap up this story!

Thanks to:  
Lmann: Zakuro: (asleep)  
WF: Oh yeah, she's VERY concerned!

Beastfire: trips up SK look, soap! watches SK drop Ivy and run screaming Hehe

Twister91: Calm down, Malachite! Geez, sprinkles him with sleep powder and congratulations on doing so well on your horse thingy!

4Evermonkeyfan: LOL, glad you love it. Sorry I took so long! T.T

Lazzynewtt: Zakuro: Spinel! runs to him  
WF: Well, seeing as you killed me for not updating soon that's why it took so long! People, blame Lazzynewtt!

Purifying Wind: watches the rocking socks LOL, thanks.

Astral Firefly: Ryou: I believe you, Violet smiles then gets glomped  
WF: laughs thanks!

**Payback's A Female Monkey! **

Zakuro looked on, torn between emotions that she still didn't understand. She closed her eyes and listened to Skeleton King's cackle, it sound evil and sinister even to her hypnotised mind.  
"This is wrong..." she muttered and reopened her eyes. She looked up and saw Malachite staring up the spear's end in fear, Skeleton King smirked in sick happiness at what he was about to do and Zakuro realised that no man who she loved would ever do this.  
"Don't do it!" she cried, making everyone turn and look at her. Skeleton King's face twisted and darkened,  
"What?" he snarled, his pointed teeth looking even more sinister as he stalked up to her. "I have waited to do this for a very long time and you truly believe I won't just for you?" Zakuro looked shocked and felt him smack her aside and she screamed as she bounced down the stairs. She landed on the base of the stairs and sobbed in pain, she watched Skeleton King look at her momentarily then return to his position in front of Malachite. Zakuro looked on,  
'why'd he do it? I thought he loved me? Why...' suddenly her real memories came flooding back and Zakuro shook her head. She looked over and felt anger boil up inside her.   
"NO!" she bellowed, floating up and glaring at Skeleton King. Everyone watched in amazement as Zakuro seemed to turn translucent and ghosted into Skeleton King. They watched him writhe in agony then go silent; he curled up in a ball and started sucking his thumb. Zakuro ghosted back out of him and smiled up at her astounded family and friends.  
"What?" she asked then they started crying in happiness, she grinned and went to untie them when Shadow, Mandarin and Bloodstone stood in her path.  
"You're not going anywhere!" growled Shadow as he blasted her with a shadow ball. She screamed as it hit her and dark energy sparked through her body, the other two joined in using their attacks and soon Zakuro was lying on the ground beaten and unable to defend herself. She looked up as they all charged up one final attack and braced for it,  
"Hold it!" someone cried and Zakuro watched as the villains were blown away. Malachite walked up and grinned down at her.  
"I couldn't let them hurt you, Zaki. Who else is gonna play with me and Petalite?" he picked her up and hugged her close, "I'm sorry I was always so mean to you, I never meant it. You're like a little sister to me!" Zakuro smiled and hugged back,  
"I'm sorry too" she whispered, and slowly her eyes closed and she fell asleep.  
When Zakuro woke up, they were back in the Super Robot. Everyone was fixing or cleaning things and being busy; she smiled and looked around for Malachite.  
"Where's Malachite?" she asked Jet as she was passing,  
"Um... I think he's up in his room" she replied and Zakuro nodded and ghosted through the ceiling to him.

Malachite was sitting on his bed, looking at his beloved guitar as he thought;  
"Boo!" said a voice, scaring Malachite. He looked down and saw Zakuro half way through the floor and grinning at him. "Whatcha thinking about?" she asked as she hovered up and sat beside him. He smiled slightly,

"Just about the past, y'know I would always get upset with you over this guitar. Since you broke it so much" Zakuro looked shocked and slightly hurt,  
"I never broke it!" she argued, frowning. Malachite raised an eyebrow in scepticism, making Zakuro pout. "Check the tapes! I never broke your guitar once; I was always the one trying to fix it!"  
Malachite decided not to argue and went looking for the security tapes; he dug around in the dusty boxes of tapes in the spare cupboard until he found the ones from the past two years,  
"Let's see then" he muttered as he put them in the computer. He watched as a black, white and grey screen showed his room, he watched and Zakuro walk in. He narrowed his eyes in contempt then looked surprised when she stayed on the floor, far from his guitar and Sprx walked in. His mouth seemed to gape and catch flies as he watched Sprx pick up his guitar and start doing Elvis impressions, Zakuro called at him and he lip-read her saying 'Leave it alone' Sprx waved away her concerns then accidentally knocked Malachite's album off the side. He slipped on it, causing the album to rip and Sprx to land on his guitar. He watched as Sprx panicked then ran out of the room, leaving a stunned Zakuro behind where Malachite later came in and yelled at her. Malachite looked amazed and quickly looked through the others, all of them showed the same thing, someone came into his room and accidentally broke stuff, Zakuro would try to fix it and get caught by him and yelled at.  
Malachite turned off the screen and leaned against it, looking and feeling stunned,  
"So I was wrong..." he felt a giant knot of guilt form in his stomach and determination to make everything right.  
He grabbed the tapes and ran out into the main room with them,  
"Everyone!" he called, grabbing everyone's attention, "I have something that I think we should all look at!" he held up the security tapes.  
"Why do you have those?" asked Ryou, raising an eyebrow, Malachite smirked  
"These are proof as to who really broke my things all those times!"  
Apprehension and guilt passed over many of their faces, leaving only Ryou, Ichigo, Antauri and Zakuro to look confused.  
Malachite proceeded to show them all the tapes, each leaving someone shameful until he finished and Antauri looked ready to explode.  
"you all used my daughter as a scapegoat?" he bellowed, frightening them all and they nodded shakily. He growled and started chasing them around, yelling threats and demands for them to be punished.  
Malachite watched in amusement for a while then he sidled up to Zakuro,  
"Hey, listen. I'm really sorry I accused you all those times" Zakuro smiled at him and gave him a hug.  
"Its ok" she said, Malachite hugged her back and looked determined,  
"But I'm gonna make it up to you! I promise anything you want!" he said smiling, and then his smile dropped when he saw Zakuro smirk in an Onyx way. Then he paled as she rattled off a list of items she wanted.  
Finally she finished and all Malachite could do was sigh and nod his head, making Zakuro clap her hands in glee.  
The next morning, Malachite got a rude awakening as Zakuro rushed in and jumped all over him.  
"You promised, remember?" she whined in his ear and Malachite moaned and forced himself to sit up.  
"Ok, ok!" he mumbled, swatting her away and yawning. Zakuro continued to pester him as he got ready until he gave in and left with her.  
At the toy store, Malachite was stuck pushing four trolleys that were all laden with toys of various sorts. Malachite grunted and pushed them to the check out, and then he started to cry silently when the bill was added up. But Zakuro bounced around in excitement, trying out everything on the way home.  
"Just leave them until we get back, ok?" he snapped finally, causing Zakuro to look down and go quiet. Malachite sighed and gave her a sideways hug  
"Sorry, I'm just tired" he said and Zakuro grinned again. She sat on his shoulders and sighed happily, causing Malachite to smile too.  
When they finally managed to get home, they saw everyone milling around the main room,  
"What's going on?" asked Malachite as he walked in carrying Zakuro. Nova grinned at him,  
"its great news!" she squealed, making Malachite step back. He looked at the rest and raised an eyebrow,  
"What is?" he asked and Ichigo stepped forward, looking excited and proud,  
"I'm pregnant again!"  
And thus I finally end this story! Woo hoo, and it'll be on to the next one, with a new baby on the way! Review people, you know you want to!


End file.
